Ganeden Probiotics is an ingredient supplier. But because its “spore-forming” probiotic has a protective shell that enables it to withstand food manufacturing conditions like heat and pH variables, it can be incorporated into foods and beverages. The philosophy of the company is to not change peoples’ habits while still having them consume probiotics. So it has successfully incorporated its BC30 probiotics into tea, coffee, cereals, baked goods — the gamut of convenience foods. Between Expo East 2015 and Expo West 2016, it launched more than 60 new finished product SKUs on the market.

A good recent product launch example is Suja, which starts off as hip, adds hipper-than-thou HPP processing to give it a scrumptious taste profile while maintaining nutrient density, then adds a hint of flavor in hip flavors like Pineapple Lemon Cayenne and Ginger Lime, and for the final hip piece de resistance it adds in a therapeutic dose of Ganeden’s BC30 probiotic strain. Viola! Cold-pressed Probiotic Water!

Nordic Naturals Probiotic Gummies KIDS

60 gummies

SRP: $19.95

Even children deserve probiotics, and Nordic comes through with merry berry punch flavored gummies that contain a satisfactory dose of 1.5 billion CFUs of Bacillus coagulans. Bonus: Also added is a prebiotic fiber to help the probiotic bacteria get on their way.

Arthur Andrew Medical Foraphage Probiotic Multiplier

30 capsules

SRP: $19.99

No probiotic bacteria in here, just microscopic proteins that destroy the bad bacteria inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract. After the attack, the bad bacteria release prebiotics that the good bacteria feed on.

The company undertook studies with four commercially available supplement brands to see if Floraphage increased the growth of the probiotics in each respective product. The increase was significant – an average increase of 24 times compared to control. The increase ranged from a mere doubling of probiotics in Nutrition Now’s PB-8, 17 times in Jarrow Formulas’ Jarro-Dophilus EPS, 24 times increase in Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics, and 51 in Syntol AMD.

Rainbow Light Candida Cleanse

120 tablets

SRP: $45.99

Candida overgrowth is every girl’s worst nightmare. But it’s more than an uncomfortable yeast infection; an overgrowth of candida has been implicated in everything from athlete’s foot to leaky gut to autoimmune diseases such as lupus.

This unique formulation from Rainbow Light gets at the root of the problem by balancing the bacterial balance – and not just with a bolus of friendly bacteria (although there is that). It also includes an herbal blend of detox ingredients like black walnut and pau d’arco, as well as enzymes that help with digestive issues (a symptom of candida).

Garden of Life Fitbiotic

20 packets

SRP: $44.95

Created by renowned doctor and author David Perlmutter, MD, this formulation is both organic and also contains a high, 4-gram dose of prebiotic fibers to boost the effectiveness of the probiotics. It’s also notable that it’s got 50 billion CFUs. For years you couldn’t really find anything with more than about 10 billion CFUs, but mega doses of probiotic bacteria are now the rage. The entire package comes in a box of 20 packets for easy integration into smoothies or the like.

NOW Probiotic-10 100 billion

30 capsules

SRP: $44.99

The “10” is for the number of different probiotic strains in this formulation. The 100 billion is the number of CFUs – and that’s the biggest number on the market, a decidedly therapeutic, not a maintenance dose. It’s also non-GMO.

Nature's Way Immunables Kids Immunity

30 single-serve packets

SRP: $29.99

The trick to buying probiotics is getting the right probiotic strains for the right health condition. Nature’s Way gets it right by using DuPont’s HOWARU Protect Kids – two patented probiotic strains shown in a clinical study in children between 3 and 5 years old to significantly reduce fever, cough and runny hoses, plus cut in half the number of sick days from day care, and cut by 80 percent the number of antibiotic prescriptions needed.

Single-serving satchels mean you just sprinkle some powder into what works best for your child – into some juice, onto some food, or straight into the mouth. So it’s a targeted probiotic play that aligns with the research showing specific benefit at specific dose with specific probiotic strains — this is kind of a rare thing. It’ll get better, especially when the human microbiome is mapped, but for now much of the probiotic success comes from consumers just knowing in general that probiotics are good for gut health and immunity, and marketers not really aligning the probiotic they buy and formulate with the science. Not so in this quality product.